A day after her Singapore Open exit, Alex Eala has turned to the Asian Games. "I think I have as big a chance as any other person on the draw," she said, GMA News reports.
"I think once you compete and, like I said, once you're in the draw, you have a chance so I'll do my best," she added.
The Filipino star said playing in the region means more. "Like every tournament, I want to go far, but I think being in Southeast Asia is extra special," she said. With family around her, "at the end of the day, it's more than tennis for me."
She also looked back. "I think my first tournament here, I was probably eight. I'm 21 now. It's nice to see how far I've come."
The reset follows a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6 loss to world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in Thursday's round of 16 in Singapore, where Eala was the No. 3 seed.
The stakes in Aichi-Nagoya are high. Eala, the world No. 18, is the highest-ranked player in the field. World No. 1 Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka, Janice Tjen and defending champion Zheng Qinwen are skipping the Games for the China Open in Beijing.
Eala is a bronze medalist from the last Asian Games in Hangzhou. The tennis event starts Sunday.
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